Interlinking the parks along the River Liffey across counties Wicklow, Kildare and Dublin, with a vision for connections for walking, cycling, and greenery along the river, is taking a step forward as Kildare County Council is seeking input on their first section of the wider project.
The council are asking members of the public for their input via an online survey “exploring the potential for the provision of a Liffey Valley Park between Leixlip and Celbridge” which would stretch to over 6.35km between St Catherine’s Park, Leixlip to Celbridge Bridge.
“If delivered, this would be the first phase of a potentially wider Liffey Valley Park within County Kildare that is rooted in the Liffey Valley Park Strategy (2006),” the council said.
Dr Paul Corcoran, chairperson of the Liffey Valley Park Alliance, a collection of 25 groups which as come together to promote the idea of interlinked park, welcomed the survey. He said he is “delighted” to see Kildare County Council being “proactive in launching this initiative”.
Corcoran said: “It’s a great opportunity for the public to have the say in the future of the Liffey Valley region. It
will promote better access to both cycling and walking along the Liffey Valley region.”
“This was recently discussed around the Wonderful Barn and Castletown House. It’s also time for all the councils to follow Kildare’s leadership in promoting the idea of a Liffey Valley Park,” he said.
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The strategy titled Towards A Liffey Valley Park, which was published by the four councils and the Office of Public Works in 2006, “presents a vision for access opportunities to a ‘necklace’ of (mainly) public lands along the River Liffey to provide for the recreational needs of the area and help to conserve the biodiversity and amenity value of the river corridor.”
Kildare County Council said that work on a feasibility study has commenced and is expected to be available in 2025.
Corcoran said: “The National Parks and Wildlife Service have recently launched a public consultation on the future of National parks in Ireland. The survey is also looking for ideas of developing future parks of National importance such as the Liffey Valley Park. I would ask people to complete both the survey from Kildare County Council and the other from the NPWS to promote the idea of a Liffey Valley Park.”
“Fingal County Council and South Dublin County Council have recently completed a major restoration of the Guinness bridge, also called Farmleigh Bridge & Silver Bridge, over the River Liffey in Waterstown Park. If the bridge is reopened, it will connect Waterstown Park in Palmerstown to Phoenix Park in Farmleigh,” he said.
“This would be another area of parks connected along the River Liffey,” he added. He added that the Rebuild the Silver Bridge campaign, which he promoted, has updates on its Facebook page.
